I’ve read many stories about redemption, find ourselves and second chances but again, this book was a new concept, at least for me.

I think, I cried, and I held my breath the entire reading. Katie McGarry has done a phenomenal job pouring a cocktail of emotions inside of every page.

Drix and Elle are from different worlds. Drix doesn’t know who he is anymore, Elle wants to be just herself, but she's not allowed. Both are puppets of the society and they should stay away from each other, however, there is one thing real for them, they just want to be together.

It scares me the reality portrayed in this book. As a lawyer, I know the system is not perfect, but more than that, I know how unfair could be. Still, what it scares me the most is the differences in social class are real and we are far away from the equality of opportunities that everybody hopes.

Drix made a mistake, he paid the consequences, he learned from it, but what it broke my heart was his acceptance, that despite second chance he felt he wasn’t worth it. He forgot how to believe in himself and in the world, there are many people in his situation.

Elle was in a prison, not a real jail but she was in the prison of a society, where she needed to be somebody opposite to herself. She didn’t know how to make choices, she never was allowed to make them for herself, still, she believes there was a world full of opportunities for her.

Rich and dysfunctional families Vs. Poor but closes one.

Friends looking for forgiveness

People who needed to learn how to fix their own mistakes.

This book has a complex plot that kept me hooked from the first page.

The writing is fantastic, flawless. The dialogues are excellent, the same as the characters, we have the good guys, the bad guys, and all of them well done described.

I love the romance, fresh, outspoken and innocent.

I’ve read all books written by Katie McGarry, and when I must confess that my favorites still are, Dare you to and Walk the edge, this book got into my heart, deep, honest and nostalgic.

Say You’ll Remember Me is the most heartwarming book by this author.

100% recommended.

Read it and if you don’t have time read it anyway.

Best Phrases.

“If we all did the right thing instead of what other people say we should do, the world be different. It would be better.”

“Life was up and then back down. Life was hard, life was tough, and life meant there would be hurt. And it was up to me to keep going.”

Friday, November 17, 2017

The blue circle was fainting. He had wasted enough time already. Time, he didn’t have. Oliver chuckled at the irony of his thoughts.

He gave a step forward ignoring the words of his second commander and best friend. Two hands grabbed his left arm, faster that Oliver expected, the numbness reached to his fingers. Good! Bash was getting stronger. The moment for him to take the lead was almost there. Almost, but not yet. So far, Oliver was still the one who made the decisions and he had decided.

“I don’t care about my wings, I only care about to end this war.” Oliver had accepted his punishment and learned to live with that. But failing again, it was something that it wasn’t going to happen in this life, nor in the next one. “Let it go, Bash.” Oliver was losing his energy. “It’s an order.”

“I swore to protect you.”

Using his free hand, Oliver pushed Bash making him land on the ground. He closed his eyes letting the energy returning little by little to his body.

“I’ll see you again. I promise.” Oliver smiled at his friend and jumped to the past.

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

I’ll try to explain how much I loved this book without using the traditional words like awesome, amazing, heartbreaking, funny and, lovely. Nope, I can’t, because Play On is all these words and much more.

Let’s start with the narrative and the POV. This book was written from Austin POV, and I just loved reading a Y/A book from a guy perspective. It was unique and brilliant to tell this story with a complex plot and excellent narrative from a male character POV.

For me, this book worked as a revelation, showing the truth of what is inside of guy’s heart and mind. Austin is an incredibly strong character, so real and emotional that, he popped out of the page in every scene.

The author did a marvelous job pushing different feelings from the reader. I laughed hard when the scene was funny. I sighed when the scene was about loyalty and friendship. I felt the love and heartbroken when the scene was about romance.

Besides all the beauty in the narrative, the author also knew how to tell a story full of sensitive issues for a teenager, like mental problems, depression, homosexuality…It was a wonderful job.

The secondary and minor characters were very effective, a perfect complement, although Austin didn’t need them. He really was the kind of the Mound in this book.

One more thing, my hometown as well is all about baseball and when I’m not a fan, I have some acknowledge about this sport (Not choices here) and reading about it, well I kind of felt homesick.

100% recommended. It worth every minute of your time.

Best Phrases:"The thing is, we always think we have plenty of time. Then, before you know it, time's ripped out from under your feet, and there's nothing but you and the huim of a truck engine.""She's worth every tear, every meltdown, every smile, every laugh. Tha she's worth everything.""I stare a good people, bad people, okay people. People who lived their lives to the fullest and people who screwed their way through life without thinking."Note: Image was taken from www.google.com

Thursday, July 27, 2017

“Trina Clemons needed the money. Why else would she - the most organized, prepared student in school - spend the summer as a nanny and partner with the biggest slacker ever? Now she's ready to tackle nannyhood with her big binder of research and schedules. Just don't ask her about the secret job of "fixing" the bad habits of a certain high school player...

Slade Edmunds prefers easy hook-ups, and Trina is definitely not his type. She's all structure and rules, while Slade wants to just have fun. Fortunately, Trina has no idea about the bet Slade made with his best friend that he can totally get her to unwind by the end of summer...

Then the weirdest thing happens. There's chemistry. A lot of it.

But nothing gets between a boy and a girl like a big, fat secret...”

I love contemporary Romance Y/A, but lately, I haven’t been fortunate with my choice of books. Although it’s true, that they have not been a complete disappointment, they aren’t what I was expecting, nonetheless, what I was looking for. That’s why I’m so glad I found this book.

Overall this story is well done written. Despite the telling, there are excellent descriptions, great dialogues and a great touch of humor, with this I mean I laughed a lot.

The plot is simple but flows well, the development of the romance feels real and the scenes with the protagonists were really cute.

The secondary characters are a good complement, and even when there is not a real antagonist, there is tension, lies, and secrets during the story.

Slade is a great character. A teenager that pretends he doesn’t care but that behave as the way he is, passionate, good friend, and considerate.

My biggest problem was Trina. She isn’t anything as she is presented. There is a huge contradiction between the way she behaves and the way she is descriptive as a character. Of course, as any story, there should be a development, but Trina as a character feels lost through the pages.

Also, there is the telling and explanation, that even when it is not much, I think the writer lost a good opportunity for giving us more of her wonderful showing and descriptions.

Besides, I believe there are some threats left lose, some conversations missing, especially between Slade and her mom, and at the end, I would change some words, to give the sense of a “longer intention.” You’ll understand when you’re at this point.

But yes I recommend this book 100% it’s funny, romantic, and perfect for a summer day.

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

“Sixteen-year-old Claudia Waring has never kissed a boy. Never been popular. Never been to a hockey game. All that’s about to change. Assigned to tutor Chris Winslow, a prank-loving, gorgeous hockey player, Claudia’s perfectly planned life immediately veers off course. And she kind of likes it. But as fun, as Chris is, she knows she'll never fit in his world.

After his latest prank lands him in hot water, Chris has to get serious about school or lose hockey. Not an easy thing for someone as carefree as the defenseman. The biggest problem, though, is how much he wants to help his cute, buttoned-up tutor loosen up a little. But while confidence has never been a problem for him, around Claudia, Chris is all nerves. Why would a girl as smart as her ever fall for a jock like him?”

I almost mark this book as DNF.

At the beginning, I didn’t connect with the characters. They didn’t feel real to me. In addition, there are so many repetitions and explanations, and an overuse of adverbs that it ruins the good showing and descriptions in the story.

But, Cate Cameron is Canadian like me, and the story is settled in the province where I live, so I forced myself to keep going and I’m so glad that I did.

This story is lovely and hilarious, honestly the plot is nothing deep or with a good twist, but if you don’t pay attention to those little issues in the writing, you’ll enjoy the reading, in fact at the end you will hug the book and sigh with a big smile on your face.

I fall in love with Chris, he is a wonderful character.

The dialogues are funny and witty.

Also, I like how the author address sensitive topics for teenagers like difficult family, what is wrong and what is right, and the importance of the express consent in a relationship.

Furthermore, I like the final message about choices and the importance of belief in yourselves. I think it’s never going to be enough stories about this topic.

Sunday, July 2, 2017

All of Maggie’s focus and free time is spent swimming. She’s not only striving to earn scholarships—she’s training to qualify for the Olympics. It helps that her best friend, Levi, is also on the team and cheers her on. But Levi’s already earned an Olympic try out, so she feels even more pressure to succeed. And it’s not until Maggie’s away on a college visit that she realizes how much of the “typical” high school experience she’s missed by being in the pool.

Not one to shy away from a challenge, Maggie decides to squeeze the most out of her senior year. First up? Making out with a guy. And Levi could be the perfect candidate. After all, they already spend a lot of time together. But as Maggie slowly starts to uncover new feelings for Levi, how much is she willing to lose to win?”

I love Miranda Kenneally’s books, and Coming up for air isn’t an exception, this book is funny, lovely and inspirational.

I loved the characters, all of them are well portrayed, and the friendship and loyalty between them is the best part of this story. I think friendship like this is what people need, not just to go through school but through life.

I enjoyed the dialogues there are effective and help to move the story at a good speed. Although in some points, the story turns a little repetitive and slow, especially in some telling parts, there are so may step by step that it seemed I was reading a diary. Also, I think Maggie’s thoughts seemed to be all over the place, she was back and forth with the same ideas, but then I realized that is the way a teenager’s mind works, with spontaneity.

The romance feels real, it was beautifully built from a strong friendship.

Besides the romance and the friendship, the author added interesting aspects, like; the importance of the equality between girls and boys, the necessity of finding a balance in order to enjoy the best of life, also that hard work, discipline and passion can help you to make your dreams comes true, and how important is to know yourself and what kind of person you want to be.

In addition, I have to mention how fantastic the epilogue is. It’s the best ending for and amazing series.

Finally, there is something else I always enjoy from Miranda’s books. Her acknowledgments. In all her books, the writer gives us a message, an encouragement to try to be the best of ourselves. She talks to the readers with beautiful emotive words.

I recommend this book 100%. This is a story you aren’t going to be able to put it down.

Note: I received a copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for providing the ARC.